Eliza

5.0

2019-05-13

This is my first course at Berges and I was extremely impressed by the text and the structure of the class. It is the most efficient method of teaching Spanish grammar that I have ever encountered. You have boiled it down to the essentials. And based on the two I encountered, you seem to have trained the teachers very well in how to use the text.

Anonymous

5.0

2019-05-09

The material for this course was definitely difficult. It compromised of several verb tenses and was not easy. By the end however, I felt like I had a solid grasp of the material and I feel more confident in continuing my goal of learning Spanish.

Cyndy Ware

4.0

2019-05-08

Nicholas is an amazing teacher! His genuine interest in people and their ideas inspires students to try to communicate en Español. My only question is why the many verb tenses covered in Level 5 are not spread out in Levels 4 and 5?

James Derham

4.0

2019-05-08

I enjoyed the challenge of Level 5, having studied at Berges from Level 1 through to this level. However I do agree with other students' reviews, that the pacing of this final level feels quite rushed. There's a lot of new tenses to learn but also a huge chunk of verb conjugations to memorize.

Marti Grayson

5.0

2019-03-25

this was a broad overview of remaining tenses- Subjunctive, Imperative, Conditional. It was a lot ot cover, but gives a baseline for further study. Nicolas is a fantastic teacher. Really emphasized key points and encouraged conversation.

Ronda Belaichouche

5.0

2019-03-25

I love the method you guys use. It is explained clearly with good examples. It is presented in a coherent manner that makes sense as you acquire language skills. And Nicolas is a great teacher!

Raymond

4.0

2019-03-25

I took the class from level 1 to 5. With different teachers. The teachers are great especially Nicolas whom I studied with during the last 3 levels. The comments are not about the teachers but more about the approach. In general I think it’s pretty good. Just some suggestions: 1. I suggest sending the answers of the homework to students before the next class so that we can correct ourselves and we can just spend time asking questions in the class instead of spending 1/3 or 1/2 of the class reading the answers. 2. Suggest the school can think about how to build the vocabulary of the students as they progress through levels, as I found my vocab was not large enough to support my conversation even I was at level 5 and we had covered all the grammars. 3. Maybe can include some listening comprehension homework by sending links to audio or video materials to students by emails and we can discuss about the materials in the next class, instead of just talking about what we did in the previous week.

Jackie Neudorf

5.0

2019-03-19

I found the structure and pace of the course itself to be easy to follow and the right tempo—it felt like I was actually absorbing the grammatical lessons being taught.

Manreet

5.0

2019-02-07

There is a LOT packed into Level 5 -- perhaps you want to break it into Levels 5 & 6?

Patricia

5.0

2019-02-07

Excellent teaching of subjunctive. Really helped me to understand it

Danielle

5.0

2018-11-28

The course was great. I think Level 5 could be broken down into 2 separate courses. To give the student more time to learn the more complex conjugations. There are so many taught in this one Level. The instruction was great & the book is a nice tool but I would prefer these separated.

Dianne

4.0

2018-11-16

I have taken level 1-5 at Berges. This time round there were several issues. First, overall I did not care for the book. I felt that it was not comprehensive enough. Second, I felt that some earlier courses could have had more material. Third, I felt there were too many tenses and moods covered in level 5. It was difficult to process all of them functionally into spoken language because of this. That being said- I have loved coming to Berges for my courses. Rolando has been a professional, funny, patient teacher. He tried to fill in all the blanks for us!

Anonymous

5.0

2018-11-16

Very helpful and engaging!

Molly swenson

5.0

2018-10-12

The course is bite sized and offers enough knowledge to move my spanish further. I love the classes and the freedom to take makeups when needed.

Anonymous

5.0

2018-09-06

I learned a lot and Rolando was really helpful and good at explaining!

Anonymous

5.0

2018-09-04

Rolando is an excellent teacher . I cannot say enough good about him In every respect ! The course itself, however, covers too much material and could well be divided into two courses. I expect you have heard this from others .

Anonymous

4.0

2018-09-02

This course was packed with information. I felt like I learned a lot! The only shortcoming is that the subjunctive is just so complex that I wish we had much more time to learn it and it's uses. Beyond that, it's a great, well taught course as usual.

Anonymous

3.0

2018-08-14

The material is good, but I feel like there is not enough emphasis on repetition. Alejandro is a fun teacher, but many times his exercises left many confused. It was difficult to succeed when we were unsure of the task.

Madeline Lo

3.0

2018-07-26

My teacher was great. Classmates were great. The material though I felt could be explained a little better and like many other people I think that there was a lot of information. You have every tense you have ever learned in the subjunctive whereas the other levels it was one tense at a time. The subjunctive has it's own set of tenses so I am not saying that it was troublesome to keep in mind the previous tenses we learned. I am saying that the subjunctive has its own version of present, preterit, etc. and that was a lot of information to memorize. I think i would combine level 2 and 3 together or 1 and 2 to space out level 5.

Anonymous

5.0

2018-07-26

Course is good - wish that it was spaced out a bit more (pace is fast)

Yosh

4.0

2018-07-23

I can't think of a better way to learn the fundamentals of Spanish grammar than in the kind of environment Berges provides: small classes, great tutors, and plenty of homework. There are areas in which they could improve: I found some of the grammar lessons in the textbook less thorough than equivalents I found online (spanishdict.com is a good comparison point), and I wish they would facilitate a forum or some other means for students to connect outside of class. But these concerns aside, I've derived huge benefit from my Berges classes, and plan to recommend them to any friends who are at a similar stage in their Spanish journey.

William Mayer

5.0

2018-07-18

The course was very interesting and educational at the same time. I have learned a lot.

John DesLauriers

5.0

2018-07-11

Level 5 was interesting. Topic presented well in a relaxed and engaged environment.

Eduardo Sanchez

3.0

2018-07-06

This course was hardly advanced spanish speaking students. The teacher, Nelson, was phenomenal but the students held me back from really learning to speak at an advanced level.

Toño

5.0

2018-06-24

Me parace que las clases fueron muy utilices durante 10 semanas. Yo he aprendido mucho sobre las reglas de español, gracias a mi maestro. Tenia dos en total que me he enseño un monton de conocimiento en español. The classes were great and you have a lot of time to practice.

stacey tyrell

5.0

2018-06-15

This is now the 5th course I have done with Berges and I still love my classes.

Justyna

5.0

2018-06-06

Personally I think there was too much material in level 5. Would love to cover all that info in two levels instead.

Erin

5.0

2018-06-02

Level 5 covers a lot of territory, filling the gaps in your Spanish grammar knowledge. The course content was good, though every student was, at times, overwhelmed by the pace of the class. I recommend this Level 5 class, especially for students like me who have already taken some lower level Berges classes.

Robert Perron

5.0

2018-05-31

Me gustó el maestro y el curso. Aprendí mucho.

Tsering Paldon

5.0

2018-04-25

This level was bit confusing but my instructor has been great. I’m looking forward to the next class with Alejandro.

Heather

5.0

2018-04-06

This course covered tons of information, but Jennifer introduced each topic clearly, gave great examples, and engaged each student to reinforce the grammar. I learned so much in this class; I'm looking forward to trying a conversation class to keep practicing.

Catherine Torigian

4.0

2018-04-03

The course was very focused on covering particular grammar topics and kept to schedule. I did think some of the longer writing exercises were repetitive and could have been constructed better.

Anonymous

4.0

2018-02-26

The class did well in providing an explanation of grammar rules and tenses, but there was no practice of conversational skills or much writing exercises that we went over.

Nicole Barrantes

5.0

2018-02-26

Great class! I love the book that we use, I think it does an excellent job in breaking down the subjunctive

Anjelica Mantikas

5.0

2018-02-25

The structure of the lessons were great because it helped me understand the grammar. Rolando was an awesome instructor and I felt like there was a great balance between learning grammar and practicing conversation skills.

Anonymous

5.0

2018-02-25

Rolando and Eva both did a great job teaching complicated grammar. Lessons were clear and entertaining. My only complaint is the classroom, I think it was called z room. Awkward shape, packed, stuffy and hot.

Anonymous

5.0

2018-02-20

I learned so much from this class. Understanding the subjunctive has really helped me to be more confident with Spanish, and Nicolas is an amazing teacher!

Anonymous

5.0

2018-01-17

Berges is a great place to dive into Spanish learning no matter your starting skill level. I have found the coursebooks to present information very clearly with thoughtful sequence, and friendly instructors provide many access points into learning with ample time to practice speaking skills through conversation. I took a few Berges courses after some informal study on various language learning apps, and my comprehension and fluency have skyrocketed thanks to the methodical grammar instruction and regular, structured conversation. Online placement testing and registration are super user-friendly with plentiful course time and date options to fit any type of schedule. I can't wait to continue my study with additional conversation classes soon!

Anonymous

5.0

2018-01-17

This course throws a lot of tenses at you. It was the first level where I felt very challenged to keep all of the information in my brain! But, after this class, I have the tools I need to figure out the meaning of all the sentences I read!

Simran

5.0

2017-12-08

great course. maybe a bit too much to cover though compared to previous levels (I have taken all 5 levels and felt like i understood things much better during levels 1-4...level 5 just seemed to be alot really quickly)... wondering if you could move a section from level 5 to level 4 to even things out...

Gina

5.0

2017-12-08

This course was exactly what I was looking for in terms of mastering the grammar of imperative, subjunctive, and conditional tenses. The lessons were super clear, and I loved being able to practice conversation with the class.

Caitlin

5.0

2017-11-30

Excellent curriculum structure, small class size, lots of opportunity to speak and practice. Great value & experience!

Angela

5.0

2017-11-30

This is my second course with the Berges Institute, and I really learned a lot. My instructor was personable but also quick to correct me and other students in a way that showed he really wanted us to master the language. I'd definitely recommend it!

Carrie

5.0

2017-11-29

The Berges method is the best! I have tried continuing ed in both Chicago and Huntington with 5 different instructors. None had a plan, many just had us read a book. I spent so much time translating that I developed tennis elbow.

Anonymous

5.0

2017-11-28

Level 5 was challenging and engaging. Having forgotten much of what I learned in high school many years ago, this was an excellent course to re-introduce me to the subjunctive and more complex sentence structures.

Anonymous

3.0

2017-11-28

I've taken each level at Berges and I loved ever level until this one. The subjunctive, imperative, conditional are all complex tenses and there not nearly enough time spent on them. It was a bit overwhelming and not fun. I would suggest splitting the class in two.

Kevin Murphy

5.0

2017-11-22

I have now taken levels III through V with Rolando and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He is able to make class enjoyable and also effectively communicate the lessons. Level V had a lot of concepts that I found to be complex / confusing but over the course of ten weeks he was able to make it all very digestible. I look forward to taking more courses at Berges.

Kim Blackmore

4.0

2017-09-23

I took this class with Rolando, who is arguably one of the best instructors at Berges. He did a great job with teaching the material and engaging everyone in conversation. My issue with this class is that it's too much information for one course. I would prefer to take this class in two parts and go deeper and have more of a chance to practice the 3 tenses that are covered. I have taken every level at Berges and every class has been well paced with the exception of Level 5. Many of my classmates felt the same. Hopefully, Berges will listen to the feedback and make changes in the future. As it is, I will probably retake Level 5 after a few conversation courses.

Robert Benton

5.0

2017-09-21

I’ve taken two courses with Rolando, Level 3 and Level 5. There’s a lot of material in Level 5, but Rolando made the grammar very clear. And he encouraged us to talk a lot in the class, to practice speaking Spanish. He’s a great teacher.

Aleksandra Chepanova

5.0

2017-08-13

This course is even better than I expected, the staff is very helpful and friendly and classes are just incredible! There is a lot of practice, we have fun and talk a lot but also enough time is dedicated to grammar, homework check and reading. And books are very well structured so that all types of exercises are used in every chapter.

Reviews for Level 5: Subjunctive, Conditional and Imperative